(L to R) Pooja Lippert, Martin Perez, Javier Gaona, Anayeli Olayo, Viviana Cabrera and Veteran Aldrich A. Atkinson.

DATE: 6/27/06

CONTACT/WRITER: Dr. Bob Lippert, (864) 656-3502

Hispanic youths help preserve veterans history

CENTRAL –Nine Hispanic youths from Central made a significant contribution to recorded history recently by interviewing 10 veterans as part of the Veterans History Project.

With the help of Rev. Larry Rice and Don Baldwin, the students met every morning at Central First Baptist Church where veterans from Liberty, Townville and Seneca came to share their stories of service. The final interview was done by the students at the TV studio facilities at Clemson University.

On the first day, the students were trained how to use video recorders and conduct a professional interview by Glenn Spake from Clemson University Video Production Services. The rest of the first day and subsequent days the students interviewed the veterans. The veterans included World War II veterans, one of them who had lost one of his arms in the war and another who was at Pearl Harbor during the attack from the Japanese as well as veterans who fought in the Viet Nam War and Desert Storm. A couple of them are still in active service.

The information from the interviews will be sent to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and archived for anyone to view at: http://www.loc.gov/vets.

The project was supported through funding by Learn and Serve America.

“Interviews with WWII veterans are especially valuable since they are now in their 80’s and they won’t be around with us much longer, said Bob Lippert, 4-H youth educator and Latino liaison. “The students did this entire project in the spirit of understanding the importance of their contribution for our nation’s recorded history.”

“The students saw a part of life that they would have never experienced in any other way,” said Rev. Larry Rice, pastor of Iglesia Bautista la Esperanza ( Hope Baptist Church in Central). “They heard about things they didn't even know existed. They learned about what it means to be a patriot and to give your life, or in the case of Mr. Atkinson, part of your left arm, for your country. When the veterans talked about their war experiences, the students saw the raw emotions, and the pain that still existed, after so many years. They also saw that there is so much more to life than they had ever imagined.”

“It was really fascinating because we got to learn stories about the veterans and it was interesting to learn about how they felt and what it was like in combat,” said Viviana Cabrera, one of the students doing the interviews. “We learned what it was like to be a soldier, commander and sergeant. It was hard for many of them not to give up and to continue fighting for their country.”

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